maps.huge.info

John Coryat presented a workshop at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA on the 27th of February called "Creating Custom Maps." This workshop covers the basics on how to go from an image or data to creating a custom image overlay in a Google Maps API based application.

Please see the presentation in the form of PDF at:

http://www.usnaviguide.com/ws-2008-02/presentation.pdf

John Coryat created an example of a Google-like mashup using the OpenLayers system that uses a custom tile layer and WGS84 coordinates to mimic the behavior of a Google Maps API page.

OpenLayers is a relatively new API that uses open source Javascript libraries to display objects in a browser, similar to the Google or Yahoo systems but without the limitations imposed by those providers regarding terms of use. OpenLayers does not provide maps themselves or geocoders like the other providers but they do provide a robust library of functions that are well behaved.

See the example at:

http://www.usnaviguide.com/openlayers/examples/usnaviguide.htm

The "Creating Custom Maps" presentation at the Googleplex workshop on the 27th of February is now online at YouTube

Due to our reduced cost in producing the USPS Zip Code Polygon database, we are happy to announce a price reduction from $5000 to $2000 for the entire USA zip code polygon database. We've also changed the license policy on updates to no longer honor the discount when purchasing an update. Previous customers will still be entitled to the $1250 update price, all new customers from this date forward will pay the full price for updates.